II: The Eightfold Path

The bathroom was silent, Feng darting his eyes between the three that stood across from him, two slowly moving around to try and come at him from all angles. Although he appeared calm in this situation, he was pretty pissed. As much as he hated to admit his temper, even with reasonable excuses, it was "You made a mistake crossing us. Now we'll really show you your place." The white haired boy threatened as he looks towards Feng, the devilish grin plastered on his face. Looking over to one of the others, the boy nodded towards him. The one on Feng's left side was somewhat taller than him, having a hoodie on. Reeling his arm back, he aimed it at Feng's head, but the second his arm went up, Feng's body quickly turned towards him, the hands still up to his face. In a rush, Feng grabbed the assailant's arm, pulling him closer while driving a fist into his stomach. Following up with a left hook, the fist connected with his cheek, sending him stumbling, and ultimately to the floor. It wasn't enough to break any bones, but to keep him dazed for a while. The other, much like the first, except with a darker complexion and black hair, even a small scar on his eyebrow. He grabbed Feng from behind in a bear hug, the white haired male trying to run up and aim a punch at his face. Feng raised a leg and kicked it forwards, pushing the boy back, as well as himself and the bear hugger into one of the walls, causing him to loosen the grip enough for Feng to slip out of. With a sharp turn, Feng sent a punch towards his chest, two others firing and connecting with his stomach. As he falls to the ground and clutches his stomach, Feng turns to look at the boy, getting back in his stance. The burning within him hasn't died out, and it burned the most every time he looked at him. "Come on then! You'll get what you deserve just like those two!" Feng shouted, not even caring if anyone heard outside. All he cared about now was taking this guy down, upperclassmen or not.

"You got some nerve!" The boy snapped, his sly expression now slowly changes into a serious and almost defeated look. Raising his own fists to his eyes, he points a thumb to himself. "Ming Yamada. Remember the name, cause you're gonna get spooked every time you hear it by the time I'm do-" He was too caught up in his words as Feng explodes forwards, aiming a solid punch towards his face. Yamada crossed his arms over his face, giving a block. The force of the punch made him take a step back to catch his footing, even a bruise started to form on his arm. 'How is he punching this hard?' Is the only thought running through his mind as he preps to take another strike. Feng reels back another fist, shouting a massive war cry before unleashing it. Yamada, knowing this might not end well, jumped to the side and fell to the floor, narrowly avoiding the punch. Feng's fist was sent into the wall, colliding with it with tremendous force. Several fractures and cracks formed at the impact spot, resembling a spiderweb. "What the hell!?" Yamada stammered as he stands up, ridden with fear. That was something else entirely, something monstrous. Looking at Feng, all he saw was a monster filled with rage. Without a second thought, he scampered out of the bathroom. When Feng gave chase, he was only met with the sight of the bustling students, the period being over and each heading to their classes. That fire within him began to dwindle as he calmed down. Yamada was nowhere to be seen, but his brother was in clear view. "Feng? Feng!" Ju-Long shouted as he rushed over, Feng meeting his presence with bland eyes and a two fingered wave. "Where were you? Lunch was over and I had to throw away your tray."

"Sorry, I had to really use it." Feng responded. He sounded devoid of life, as if he's given up on everything, although that wasn't the case. Although both of them noticed, only one actually took seriously, the other focusing on other thinks, such as Feng's ruffled clothing. "Oh my god, don't tell me you got into a fight already!?" Ju-Long exclaimed, lowering his voice at the realization of his volume. He ushered Feng to move along with everyone else before continuing. "Are you sure you took a number 2, or did you give someone two black eyes? We can't start off with a reputation like this. If word gets out, then the principal might expel us right on the spot."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Feng said, keeping his eyes straight as he walked through the halls to their next class. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Looking down one of the corridors, he spots Mr. Li and the silver haired man from earlier speaking to one another. Although he couldn't hear them, he could see the tone of the conversation in their expressions, somewhat serious. Did they find out about the fight already? Li glanced in Feng's direction, only to look back at him with a raised eyebrow. The last thing he saw was Li nod his head towards Feng as he spoke towards the other man. "Oh boy..." Feng said under his breath.

"What is it?" Ju-Long asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Nothing....Let's just get to class before something bad happens." Feng said, putting a bit of pep in his step. 10 minutes into class time, Feng was explaining the coursework to Ju-Long before there was a rather forceful tap at the door. The teacher gazed towards the door, having a cheerful expression on their face. "Mr. Wang." The familiar voice boomed throughout the room, gathering the collective attention of all the students, Feng's last. At the door stood the formal silver haired man, his eyes much softer than Feng's last memory. "May I speak to you inside my office. We have to discuss something of importance." The man says, beckoning for him to come to the door. Ju-Long looked over towards him, a sigh coming from him as if he knew what was about to happen. Several other students sneered and chuckled whilst the teacher tried to control them. Feng slowly rose from his seat and headed towards the door, dragging his feet. Once the two left, the classroom became a large chatterbox, rumors spreading and gossip flooding the ears of many. For Ju-Long, this spelled trouble.

The two continued down the hallway until they reached an office, a golden label with the name "Zhu Tian - Principal" etched into it, a crown over the name. The man opened the door for Feng to step through, in which he did, and followed in afterwards. The office was a bit decorative than other rooms in the building. The desk had many things on it, such as a buisness card wheel, notepad, a laptop that doesn't seem to be any popular brand (but the design seemed much better than most), and a Newton's Cradle. There were also shelves of books on both sides of the room and two comfortable chairs angled in front. "Have a seat. We have much to talk about." The man said, showing an open palm towards either chair as he goes around towards his own desk, taking a seat. Once Feng sat down and a couple of moments of silence has gone by, the man finally chimes up. "I believe introductions are in order. I know of you, but you don't know much of me. My name is Zhu Tian, but please refer to me as Mr. Zhu, it's better that way. I'm the principal of this school, and I hope to be a figure you youths can look up to, a role model, or a guide. However....." He says, interlocking his fingers as his head lowers in an observing glare. "It seems as if there are a few here who aren't exactly on the right path, even after given a warning."

Feng was a bit surprised. Did he figure out about the fight? Surely there wasn't any witnesses. In his pockets, Feng's fists gripped tighter as the man spoke. "What do you want?" Feng replied, sounding a bit impatient. That drained feeling that washed over him was slowly starting to fade, being replaced by his actual emotions. "Have you ever heard of the Eight-Fold Path, Mr. Wang?" Zhu would say out of the blue, Feng only shrugging as a response. "It is of Buddhist practice in which you must take 8 defining steps into changing ones self for the better, to ultimately achieve Nirvana and to be thrown into the cycle of rebirth. Every student here..." As he explains, he reaches for his Newton's Cradle, pulling back one of the metal balls and letting go, the ball swinging into the mass and the other end flying up, going back and forth in the same motion. "has been the product of rebirth, for their ancestors, and their ancestor's ancestors have achieved Nirvana throughout their lifetime. Some practice the Eight Fold Path regularly, some go through life and practice it through experience. Through this practice can one achieve something great. You, however, are a special one." As he says this, a small and soft smile grew on his face.

Feng was a bit weirded out by all of this rebirth talk. "What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"You know what I'm talking about. You have your own set of rules and beliefs to follow, right? Would you mind telling me what happened between you and Yamada?" Zhu asked, almost abruptly after Feng. Feng gave a confused and guilty look, trying to play it off as if he didn't know what he was talking about. "I-I don't know who-"

"You fought the boy, didn't you? That blistering rage that swelled inside you. It didn't feel like your own, did it? It was much divine, a rage that's only purpose is to drive out the evils of this world." Zhu stated, gripping and shaping his fist. "You are Heaven's Fierceness, Wang Feng. That rage is a part of your rebirth, and you must use it as intended."

"Who are you?" Feng asked, now somewhat scared and concerned. He slowly rose from his seat and backed away towards the door. Zhu stood as well, hand in pocket while the other on the crowned cane. "Your journey into the Eight-Fold Path begins now, Fierceness. Return to class, you've probably missed enough valuable knowledge." Zhu said as he escorted Feng out the door, closing it behind him. Feng, now completely weirded out, rushed back to class with a horrified look. Back in class, Ju-Long began his series of questions of concern, Feng either answering with one word responses, shrugs, or plainly ignoring. 'What just happened? Why am I here?Heaven's Fierceness?' Many of his own questions ran throughout his mind, trying to find reason to them.

Zhu stayed in his office, having his eyes out the window towards the clouds. As a soft sigh escaped his lips, a couple knocks could be heard at the door. "Come in." He says, unmoved. Entering the room was Mr. Li, giving off a heavy sigh as he closed the door. "Those kids are rowdy! I mean seriously, can't they just take a hi-"

"What is it that you need, Li?" Zhu asked, chuckling a bit hearing the man's complaints.

"Oh, right. Now that he's here, what's next?" Li asked, taking a seat.

"Now....the eternal war will finally commence."